Unrequited

Chapter Five: Oh Sh*t

Hazel's POV:

It's the first day of school.

Do I have everything? Book, bag, pencils, another book, notepads, and some pens. Good, the only thing I'm missing is some self-confidence and popularity. I'm a senior this year, but I'm still not popular. I feel like I'm just one of those random strangers that you didn't really know was there. Although, to be honest, I like it that way.

But I'm so nervous, as I enter the car, all I can think about is Dylan and that dream. God, if I do see him, that's all I'm gonna be thinking about. Then I'll blush like an idiot and run away. That's what I always do, but this is gonna be different because there's actually something to run away from. Hope.

Whenever there's hope, there's doubt. Where there's doubt, bad things happen to me. And when bad things happen to me, I draw attention to myself. From then on, there's pity, fear, frustration, and less hope. So to sum it up, I don't hope. I don't like to hope, or else I will only bring fear, frustration, and pity to myself. Not to mention attention.

But I really want to see him today. Even for a little while. It's a new school year. Maybe I can change things around. Maybe I can be one of the lucky girls that go out with him for a few months. Or...maybe I won't even talk to him. Shy away from every conversation. And go home a separate way.

Walking toward my classroom-how did I get here?-I play out some scenarios that could go good or bad. Rejection, laughter, awkwardness, luck, smile, kiss, holding hands, confession... the list could go on forever. But I stop, for I have entered and he's already here.

He's in the middle section, and smiles and waves at me. Am I dead? Did he just wave at me? And did he do it while smiling? His gorgeous smile , the smile that makes a nice shine in his eyes. Dumbfounded, I smile and wave back, then start heading toward an empty seat next to him.

After only a few steps, he starts talking. "Did you hear about today's pop quiz?"

"What?!" I practically yell. "It's the first day of school, why would we have a quiz?"

"Mr. Smith said he wanted to have a brief review of education, because our brains don't hold anything during the summer." he chuckles.

"God," I mutter, "what a pain in the ass."

"Yeah," he says quietly.

Mr. Smith walks in a few minutes later, a stack of papers in his hand. Everybody quiets down as they're handed their quiz. The quiz took forever. I honestly couldn't concentrate because every few minutes I would look up at Dylan and he would look up too, then we would just stare at each other smiling. Then eventually, we had to go back to our tests before we failed. Next was English, but even in that, I couldn't concentrate. I kept thinking about his smile. His smile that stretches from ear to ear.

All in all the day went by quickly, we only made small talk again at lunch, but his smile is always the same. Like something I can always hold onto, even if its not mine. I hope tomorrow can be like this too. Even with the weird glances from his friends. I wonder what that's all about.

How strange, it's as if they're trying to tell me something, and trying to hide it from Dylan at the same time. Whatever, it's probably just my imagination.

Dylan's POV:

Shit, the first day of school, and I'm gonna be late.

Do I have everything? Book, cologne, pens, my phone, and my earbuds. Nice, the only thing I'm missing is some decent hair. Like are you kidding me? Today of all days, can't you just get your shit together? It doesn't really matter anyway, because all I can think about is that dream with Hazel.

I talked it over with the guys, and they seem like they've been waiting all their lives to hear this. Don't they have anything better to do? I mean, I don't talk about this 24/7. It's just sometimes, when I think it's important. I rush the car into gear, hoping to speed past neighbors without getting a ticket. I really want to see her face again. But this time in real life. With a smile, strange looks, and her cute blushing that makes me feel jittery. God, I'm such a girl right now.

Pulling into the parking lot, I rush past the crowd to the classroom, hoping no one saw my terrible bed head. Does my reputation matter this much? No it doesn't, but looking good in front of Hazel is. Fixing my hair, a couple friends come in, a "hi" here, a "hey" there. The usual, what'd you do over the summer. Typical answers of nothing and what not. But then she walks in.

Her brown hair hangs just below her shoulder, a few strand out of place. She sees me and looks like she died, I wonder if she's okay. Then she suddenly puts on a dumb smile, and walks to the seat next to me. I just can't wait to talk to her, so just after a few steps. We chat about the pop quiz-that everyone found out about-we're gonna be given today. She's so pretty, I just can't stop looking at her.

Mr. Smith walks in with his stack of "You're Going to Fail This" papers. Almost everyone quiets down immediately. I get my paper and start working, but every few minutes, I catch Hazel looking at me, then I look back and smile. We just sit there for a few minutes staring at each other, before she pulls away to go back to her test.

Does she really like me? I thought, was Jessica right? Wait, does she know that I like her too? Pretty much nobody knows except for the guys, but they don't really count. It's a best friends "duty" to discuss stuff like this to them. Or at least that's how I roll. I wonder if her best friends knows that she likes me. That's a no brainer, of course she knows.

The day dragged by pretty slowly, all I could think about was her blushing smile. The way it's bright enough to see, but soft enough not to notice. All we did was talk at lunch, but that was the only time I saw her.

And the guys kept giving her stares, trying to tell her that I liked her, trying to keep me from noticing. Whatever, go ahead, she's gonna think she's just imagining it.